Titans: Brave and Bold
by Artemis Goldborough
Summary: Once a titan always a titan. Dick Grayson a.k.a Nightwing, Roy Harper a.k.a Arsenal, and Garth a.k.a Tempest are three not so normal men just trying to live their lives but things keep interfering, as if fate itself is saying there must be a Titans team. Adventures will feature villians and heroes from across the DCU. This is an AU set after Graduation Day.
1. Stars On The Beach

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC Comics owns them. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

Chapter One: Stars on the Beach

**The East Coast - Bludhaven -Dick Grayson's apartment - the living room - 8:30 p.m.**

Dick Grayson sat in an armchair. The room was shadowed by the darkness of night. There was no light on in the room. Only the lights from a nearby building kept the room from being pitch black. Dick leaned forward in the chair. His face was grim and serious. He held in his hand a picture frame.

The picture was of the five original Titans. In the picture a smiling Wonder Girl wore her original red, gold, white and blue costume with her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her real name was Donna Troy. She was the closest thing Dick had to a sister. Standing next to her was the red haired youth with the domino mask then known as Speedy. Speedy was dressed in his red and yellow Robin Hood style garb.

Across the darkened room on a table, an answering machine beeped. "It's me Roy!" the voice on the speaker yelled, "Now pick up the darn phone!" Roy Harper was the real name of the one who had been Speedy. When he wore a costume, he now went by the name Arsenal. Like Dick, he was much older than the face the picture showed.

The boy next to Speedy was a thirteen year old Dick Grayson. When he wore the red and green with the yellow cape, he had been Robin. The black haired boy in the picture was so different in expression from the man in the armchair that it was almost hard to believe they were one in the same. Back then Robin had been so young and innocent. Ten years later he was now known as Nightwing.

"You need to talk to someone!" Roy yelled over the speaker. "If you're there pick up the phone! No one's heard from you in weeks! No one outside of Bats and Timmy. Yes, I talked to Bruce. I swears when he talks that way, he's scary!" The phone beeped then rang again. After a minute Roy was back on the speaker. "I wasn't finished! You listen to me! You…"

Dick paid little attention to the phone. He continued to gaze at the picture. His eyes moved to look at a boy with red hair decked out in yellow and red. His codename then, Kid Flash. His real name was Wally West He was now the Flash. Beside the then Kid Flash was yet another youth who since grown into a man. The black haired boy with the purple eyes wore a red and blue costume. His codename then was Aqualad. His real name was simply Garth. He was now Tempest.

The faces in the picture were hard to see in the dim light but they were smiling, a reminder of a happier, more light hearted age. The team then was so bright and optimistic. They were so cheerful. They behaved and acted as if nothing could harm them. One of the people in the picture was now dead.

**The West Coast - Star City - Oliver Queen's house - the kitchen - 4:37 p.m.**

Roy Harper slammed the phone down hard on the counter top. The red haired man was in his early twenties. His arms were strong from pulling bowstrings. His hair was longish for a man, going past his jaws. His face was filled anger. The anger quickly shifted into worry.

Over at the kitchen table Lian Harper sat with a coloring book. The three year old girl had black hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her eyes were blue the same as her father. She looked up at her Dad. "Uncle Dick is being bad?" she asked.

"Yes," Roy said, "Um no. I don't know. He's closing himself off. He's not talking to his friends. I think he's afraid of getting hurt. He's not dealing with Donna's death."

Mia Dearden, Oliver's teenage ward walked into the room. "If you ask me," she said, "I think that guy's a jerk." Mia grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. "So how long you staying? I don't mind much but I think Ollie's going to go ballistic." Roy sighed. He scratched at his neck. "Much as I wish you were wrong, all of us living under the same roof isn't going to work. I'm looking for an apartment nearby. Maybe a house to rent."

"So you're staying in the area?" Mia asked. She walked out of the room biting into the apple as she moved.

Roy moved over to the table. He pick up Lian. He held her. "For the next month or so no unnecessary risks. Just quality time with family and friends."

"Auntie Donna?" Lian asked.

Roy nodded. "Yes. Loosing her made me revaluate some things."

"Re- what?" Lian's eyes went wide.

Roy smiled a sad smile. "It made me see more clearly the important things. Like how important it is to just enjoy the time you have with loved ones. Loved ones like you!" He began to tickle Lian. Her laughter filled the kitchen.

**Seven months later - Bludhaven - Dick Grayson's apartment - outside the front door - 5:30 p.m.**

Roy Harper stood banging on the door. "Dick if you're in there, let me in!" Roy continued banging on the door. "I know you're off duty! Let me in!" Roy was leaning on the door as it suddenly swung open. He fell forward. He put his hands out catching himself. He was nearly face down on the floor. A pair of black and white sneakers were in front of his face. "Those shoes, too small for Dick," Roy said out loud.

"That's because I'm not Dick!" a male voice shouted harshly. Roy looked up. The sixteen year old Tim Drake was standing in front of him looking down. The boy was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater. The boy was glaring quite fiercely. "What are you doing here?"

Roy looked nervous. "Um, looking for Dick?"

Tim's face softened. He laughed. "I scared you. Didn't I?"

It was Roy's turn to glare. He stood up brushing at himself as if brushing off dirt. "You sounded too much like Bats!"

Tim rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Right." He rolled up the long sleeves of the sweater he was wearing. He glanced at his watch. "Dick should be back soon. He was just running down to the local convince store."

"You worried about him too, kid?" Roy asked.

"What do you mean?" There was annoyance in Tim's face and voice. "Dick's fine."

"Fine!" Roy yelled with sarcasm. "He's not fine! He hasn't spoken hardly one word to his best friends in the past six months. Even Wally's worried. The only one who's not is Garth and that's just because he's been out of communication. When Garth gets that way, that's just Garth being Garth. Atlantis is always dealing with wars and other communication problems so not talking to Garth for a few months even half a year, is no big deal. With Dick though it's a different matter."

Roy moved his arms wildly. "When Dick stops talking to his friends or spending time with them it's cause for alarm! My best friend, a guy who is well known for needing human touch and socialization has withdrawn from more than half the people who still care about him. So no, I would say that everything is not fine!"

"Geez," Tim said shaking his head, "Keep your voice down! Do you want the land lady to come here? Trust me man, that's not a good idea. So lower your voice." Tim gestured at the shabby interior of the apartment. "If you're going to be loud come on in first."

A minute later in Roy was standing on the other side of the door. The door was shut. Tim was staring up at Roy. Tim crossed his arms then raised a brow. "Don't you think you're a making a big deal out of nothing?" Tim said.

"No!" Roy said.

Tim smirked. "Okay. I kind of see your point. So what are you planning?"

Roy looked surprised. "What makes you think I'm planning anything?"

"If you don't have a plan then I got one," Tim said. "Just don't tell Dick it was my idea…" A grin that wouldn't have been out of place on a villain spread across Tim's face.

**-The next day- the southbound highway out of Gotham City - 6:03 a.m.**

An old fashioned blue pickup truck rolled down the highway. Inside the truck were three young men. The driver was Roy Harper. The one in the middle was Tim Drake. On the passenger side was Dick Grayson. Dick's brows were raised. "Tell me again why you convinced me to do this?" Dick asked.

"Because it's going to be fun," Roy said, "It's a shame about Garth and Wally."

Tim's question was ever so innocent sounding. "What about them?" "They're married," Roy said, "Their wives have got them whipped. That's the only reason why you were invited. Two people on this kind of trip would be as much fun. Besides ole Wingnut and me would drive each other nuts! You're- what's that term again? Oh, yeah. Mediator." Roy smiled widely.

Dick looked annoyed. "Hey! I'm not old!" Dick schooled his facial expression into a more relaxed look. He gazed about the truck curiously. "Say this truck, it kind of looks like the one Ollie and Hal used on that road trip. Is it…?"

"No," Roy said, "It looks a lot like it did though. When I found this baby a few months ago I couldn't resist. I may not have a lot of good memories of that time period but that truck was awesome."

"How did you get the tuck from California to here?" Dick asked.

"A teleporter," Roy said, "A stunning purple haired meta-human. On the beauty scale of one to ten she's an eleven. She's no one you know and no I'm not telling you her name. Back to the matter of the truck, I told you what happened to it. I told you about good old Rosebud's final fate. Last year Ollie dragged me on this treasure hunt. The old truck was a decaying rust bucket in the ruins of the Arrow Cave."

"Arrow Cave?" Tim snickered.

Roy gave Tim a sharp look. "You don't make fun of that, kid." The truck swerved to the left.

"Eyes on the road Bowhead!' Dick yelled. Under his breath Dick muttered, "Why am I agreeing to this road trip? I should be back in Buldhaven, not on my way to a spring break in Florida." In his mind Dick was thinking, _at the very least there can't anything super hero related. It's a normal vacation whether I want a vacation or not._ Dick unbuttoned his shirt a little bit and looked down. There was a hint of blue and black. As a precaution he had the majority of his costume on underneath his clothes.

Tim noticed. His voice had an almost whining tone to it. "You didn't! You are not wearing all the way down! The first truck stop we hit, you're changing. You're throwing that costume in your duffle bag. It may cool weather this far north but it won't be at the beach. You are not wearing long sleeves this whole trip! This is a strictly no costumes trip!"

"Sure thing Timbo," Dick said. He smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes.

**Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean - Several hundred feet under water - Exact time unknown**

On the ocean floor a creature sat. It looked like a gigantic starfish. It was green. It had a large red eye in its center. It watched and waited. Hundreds of little starfish creatures moved in the water around it. They were miniature copies of the larger one.

Men, water breathers from Atlantis swam toward the monster. The men carried spears to attack it. There were over two dozen men. The little starfish monsters moved like a swarm surrounding the men. The men's bodies were quickly covered in the creatures.

**An isolated road in northern Florida - 7:24 p.m.**

The sun was slowly setting. The blue truck carrying the young men rolled onward. The truck moved past a light number of houses and a lot of wilderness. Off in the distance to the left the beach could be clearly seen.

"We got to Florida a lot faster than I thought," Tim said.

"Well, this old baby is faster than I thought!" Roy bragged.

Dick's arms were crossed. He scowled, staring out the passenger window. "Someone was speeding," he muttered. Dick's voice grew louder. "That's three tickets from three different states. More than once today I thought Roy's smart mouth was going to get us arrested." Dick's voice rose. He was beginning to shout. "I'm a cop! Do you know how embarrassing getting arrested would be?! Not to mention that it could put my job at risk!"

"Chill out!' Roy said, "It didn't happen. You're acting worse than Batman! What happened to you? You used to be more fun."

"It's called growing up!" Dick snapped.

"No," Roy shouted, "You're not. I know more about that than you, being a single dad and all! You're not acting mature! You're not being responsible! You're backing out of every relationship, every friendship that means anything. You're acting like an idiot!"

"Um guys," Tim said.

"Stay out of this!" both Roy and Dick yelled at the same time. The two men glared at each other.

"No!" Tim shouted, "We're going to crash!"

The truck had gone off the road. There was a huge sign which said 'Welcome to the Unincorporated Town of Silvery Shores. Population, 5,000' The truck was headed right for the sign. Roy slammed the breaks. The truck stopped less than an inch from the sign.

Roy grinned like he had just won the lottery. "This old truck is proving very reliable. She ought to have a name like Old Bessie or something."

Dick was scowling as he said, "How about Rosebud Two? It's just as much a bucket of junk!"

"Nah." Roy shook his head. "Something else. Something not so jinxed." Roy snapped his fingers. "I got it! Lady Arrow! Lady A for short."

Tim snickered. The snickers quickly turned to laughter. "Why not just call it the Arrowmobile?"

Dick smiled a real smile. "Did Ollie ever have an original idea?"

Roy tried to scowl but the scowl turned into a smile. "You know," Roy said, "I've asked myself that same question many times." Roy's smile grew wider. He began laughing. "He even called an airplane, the Arrow Plane!" A few minutes later Roy pulled the truck into a gas station. He parked by the pump. The three of them got out and walked into the gas staion's convience store. The man behind the counter was wearing a baseball cap. "We don't get too many strangers around here," the man said.

A minute Roy, Dick, and Tim walked out of the store. All three were carrying bottles of soda.

Roy stared at the left back tire of the truck. "Aw shoot!" The tire was flat.

"Just get the spare." Dick said.

"I don't have one!" Roy shouted.

Tim raised his brows in disbelief. "You're kidding right?"

Half an hour later the truck was still in the gas station parking lot. The engine of the truck was smoking.

"So much for reliable!" Tim said in a teasing tone. "Dick was right. Rosebud Two is the perfect name. If were a ship I'd call it Titanic." Dick and Roy stood near Tim. Roy looked annoyed. "Did I ask for your opinion, shorty?" Tim rolled his eyes. A slight smile quirked up the corners of Dick's mouth.

Twenty minutes after this the truck was in a auto shop. The handful of men working in the shop all had baseball caps on their heads. Roy stood arguing with one of the mechanics over cost. Tim was sitting on a bench with a cell phone in hand texting. Dick walked out of the shop. He stood on the sidewalk looking around at the street. It was after sun set. It was a small town. Very few people were on the street. There was a courthouse and a post office in one direction. In the other direction there was a bar and a cheap looking motel.

A beautiful blonde haired woman walked down the street wearing a sun dress and a straw hat. She smiled at Dick in a flirty sort of way. "Hello handsome," she said as she moved past him. She walked toward the bar down the street.

Roy came out to stand beside Dick. "Can I borrow your credit card? I'll pay you back…eventually."

"No," Dick said smiling, "It's your bucket of junk. You pay for it!"

Roy raised a brow. "I've been trying to get you to relax some this whole day. And now you're amused? This isn't funny!"

Dick's face went serious. There was a distant look to his eyes. "There's something not right about this town. Every single person we've seen is wearing a hat."

Roy shrugged. "So it's a city of hats? So what? You really need to lighten up some. You're not acting like the boy blunder I remember from when we were kids. Relax. We're on vacation. Nothing's going to happen." "You're probably right," Dick said, "It's probably nothing."

Thirty five minutes later at the cheap motel Dick noticed, a motel room door on the first floor was wide open. In the side the room three duffle bags were piled near the door. There were two double beds in the room. Dick was flipping on a light over the sink at the back of the room.

"So," Tim said standing near the door, "Which one of us get to sleep on the floor? There's no way I'm sharing a bed."

Roy grinned. "Kid, you just answered your own question." Roy was fiddling with the air conditioning unit under the window, a unit which looked like it had seen better days. The walls of the room were dingy. The curtains were faded.

Tim looked around in disgust. "This place is a dump!" He gazed at the floor. It was hard to tell what the oridanl color of the carpet was. "No way am I sleeping on that floor!"

Roy lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I've seen worse. I've slept on worse. What's the matter, Timmy? Spoiled to sleeping in a fine manor? Say Bruce's place?"

Tim shook his head. "No. I live with my father in a middle class neighborhood."

"That's right," Roy said, "You don't actually live with Batman. You just train with him." Tim put a finger to his lips. "Shh! The door's open. Just because your identity isn't a well kept secret, doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else!"

"How did you convince your father to let you come here?" Roy asked.

"I told him I was spending the week with a childhood friend in Bludhaven," Tim said, "a very sick friend with an illness that could be terminal."

Roy raised his brows. "What friend?"

Tim shrugged. "No one. I lied," he said, "It's not like Dad knows anything about who I was friends when I was little. He was almost never around. Unlike now where he's trying to watch me like a hawk. I had to tell him something. Dad knows I've been in that city some. Cell phones have tracking devices. He got tech savvy enough to know the phone he gave could be used to monitor to me. I get in a big fight over sneaking out and stuff. He tried to ground me. I gave him an ultimatum. Surprisingly it worked. The only good news is he still doesn't know I'm Robin."

Dick walked across the room looking mad. "That's not the story you told Bruce."

"I lie," Tim said, "If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here right now. Ever since Young Justice disbanded last year I've almost never gotten out of the city. "

Roy's eyes narrowed. He shook his head. "I can't believe you lie to Batman. There's going to be hell to pay when you get home."

"Uh-huh." Tim winced as if in pain. "Don't remind me."

"So Dick," Roy said, "You want to go out? There's not a club here or anything but I did see a bar. I saw some very attractive ladies walk in there."

Dick nodded. He followed Roy out of the motel rooom "See you later Tim," Dick said, "Don't go anywhere."

"What?" Tim was startled. "Why do I have to stay here? Why can't I go with you?"

"You're underage," Roy said.

"You lied without good reason," Dick said.

"I've got a fake id!" Tim shouted.

Roy laughed. "You hardly look sixteen shorty! You could never pass for older." Roy walked off still shaking with laugher. Dick pulled the motel room door shut from the outside.

Tim stomped his foot like a tantrum. His face went anger to tiredness. Tim sighed. _I wish, _he thought, _that I was hanging out with my friends. I would love to have Kon or Bart around…Hmm, Bart is Impulse a speedster. I could call him… he could be here in seconds, minute at the most…No, Dick would ready to kill me!_

Tim paced back forth in the room. _Do I call Bart or not? Do I dare? He's living with Jay Garrick now, the original Flash. If I asked Bart, he'd come. He wouldn't even stop to think that he shouldn't. Impulse is more than a codename. For Bart it's a way of life. If he's got a curfew, then Jay would chase all the way across the country. No, I do not need an angry Flash. That would lead that much faster to an angry Batman._

Five minutes after this in the bar Dick and Roy were sitting at a table in a corner. The bar was dimly lit. There was a dance floor crowded with people. Everyone in the place expect Dick and Roy were wearing hats. There were baseball caps, straw hats, cowboy hats and fedoras. A waitress wearing a beret brought Roy and Dick their drinks.

"You know this place isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Roy said.

Dick's brows were raised. "You don't find the hats weird?"

"No," Roy said, "Not at all. I almost feel bad for leaving the kid back at the motel."

"Really?" This time only one of Dick's brow was raised.

Roy grinned. "I said, 'almost."

Dick held his glass. "Some times I feel like Tim really is my brother."

A blond haired woman with a cowboy hat walked to the table flirting with Roy. She was wearing a midriff revealing shirt and cut-off jeans. Roy smiled back at her. "I think that's my cue," he said. He stood up. As he did so his knee hit the table. The table shook spilling his untouched drink. The liquid moved quickly across the entire table. Roy looked apologetic.

Dick glared. Holding his drink in one hand he pushed his chair back away from the table. "Watch it! If I hadn't holding mine, it might have spilled all over me!"

"Order me another one, would you?" Roy asked, "Oh, and lighten up. You're too serious!" At Dick's continued glare Roy laughed. Roy then followed the girl out onto the dance floor.

Dick sipped his drink. The waitress came around with a towel. Dick smiled at her. "Another one for my friend please. I'm afraid my friend is a bit of a klutz." He looked around at the crowd. _I don't care what Roy says, _he thought, _there's something weird about this town. _The waitress walked stared at his drink with growing confusion. He slammed the glass down on the table. _Whoa, I'm feeling kind of…Dizzy? _He clutched at his head with both his hands.

Roy came back to the table. He stood looking down at Dick. "Strange girl, very strange. She spoke in monotones. When she opened her mouth…" Roy visibly shuddered. "Ugh! She had buckteeth. They were like walrus teeth. It was not attractive- Hey, are you okay? You don't look so hot."

Dick sat limply in his chair. His face was pale.

The waitress came around with mutable glasses on a tray. She handed one to Roy. Dick stood up all wobbly. He shook as he moved. He knocked the glass from Roy's hand.

Roy stared at Dick in disbelief. "What did you do that for? Boy, are you smashed!'

"Not smashed," Dick said, "not drunk. Drugged!"

"Don't ridiculous!" Roy shouted.

"Here," the waitress said. She handed Roy another drink.

"Onnnly hadd hallff a gllasss," Dick said, his word slurring, "Havvennn't tttimme tto gget drrunkk!" He moved quickly but awkwardly. He deliberately bumped into the waitress. He fell with her to the floor. Her hat too fell to the floor. Her head was bare. As she stood up, both men could see that there was a small green starfish with a red eye on top of her head. The crowd in bar stopped behaving normally. Every person took off their hats revealing that each had an identical starfish perched on the center of their heads. The crowd glared at Roy and Dick

Roy's eyes went wide. "Uh oh. That's not normal!"

"Yoouu thinkk!" Dick yelled still slurring his words. He struggled to stand. Roy grabbed one of Dick's hands helping up. Roy half dragged Dick as they ran for the nearest exist.

The crowd was now acting more like a mob. People tried to grab at Dick and Roy. The people spoke if one. "You need to be like us. You need to join the conqueror. He will unify the world."

"No thanks!" Roy shouted. Roy picked a mop that was leaned against a wall. He ran punching people that got too close as he went. Dick staggered behind Roy as they made their way out a set of double doors at the front of the building. Roy thrust the doors shut. He used the mop draping it across the doors as a make shift barricade.

"Wwon't wworrk," Dick said, "wonnn't llasst."

"What are those things?" Roy asked.

"JLA f-foe," Dick said, "I-I can't sppeakk. Evvery wword a-a struggle. Ccann hardly evvenn mmovee." Dick fell forward. Roy caught him. Dick leaned against Roy. Dick continued speaking. "Celll pphonne. Babbss. Ssspeeed diall."

Roy raised a brow. "Babs? Barbara Gordon? Why would you have her on speed dial? I thought you broke up with her."

"Shhee's ooraccle! Yoouu iddiout!" Dick yelled.

"Oh right," Roy said, "Dinah works with her."

"Iddiott!" Dick shouted. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.

The doors of the bar shook. Roy's eyes widened. His brows went up. "He was right. That's not going to hold for long! Dick was right about how the people were acting too! I hate it when he's right and I'm wrong! Stupid son of a bat, you're going rub in my face later, aren't you? I think it's time to go!" Roy picked Dick in a fireman's carry.

**Gotham City - The Clock Tower- Oracle's computer room- 8:59 p.m.**

Sitting in front of a computer, Barbara Gordon was typing. The wheelchair bound Barbara Gordon had once been the vigilante Batgirl. She was now an information specialist known as Oracle.

Her cell phone rang. She checked the number. She picked it up. Her voice was teasing as she spoke "Hey short pants." "No," the voice on the phone said, "I'm not boy blunder. He's here, though very much unconscious at the moment. Carrying him while being chased by a mob is not fun!"

Barbara's face and voice went serious. "Who is this?"

"Roy Harper," the man said, "What do you know about green starfishes with red eyes? Seems I've heard Ollie talk about something like them once. Other than that I know nothing."

"Starro." Barbara's eyes went wide with shock. She went business like again. "An alien life form. The Justice League has dealt with it three times."

"Would you mind," Roy asked, "getting the Justice League to come here? The sooner the better. I can't say I know where am I except that it's northern Florida, the Atlantic Coast. I'm sure a tech genus like you could my find my location. Just have the league beam down, ASAP!"

"No can do, Harper," Barbara said, "You're the second person to ask for League assistance tonight. The Justice Society is busy too. Ironically the League is dealing with a different alien menace."

"This is a Justice League level threat!" Roy yelled, "The only people I got with me are an out cold Dick Grayson and… Oh no! We left Tim at the motel!"

"Tim? As in Robin?" Barbara asked. "Yes," Roy said, "We came here on a road trip. A vacation! No costumes! No gadgets. No weapons! This trip was supposed to be fun. A way of trying to get Dick to cheer up some. Instead I'm dealing with a hick town infested with alien starfishes!"

"Starfishes?" Barbara said, "As in more than one. These wouldn't be the kind that cover a person's face?"

"No," Roy said.

Barbara let out a breath. "That's a relief.

"I wouldn't say that!" Roy yelled, "This is much worse! These little guys are tiny and on top of the head. These things can be hidden by a hat!"

"Aren't you the man" Barbara said, "who claimed to be able to turn anything into a weapon? I've heard of your boasts from both Dick and Dinah."

**In the town of Silvery Shores**

In a darkened alley beside the bar Roy Harper stood with a cell phone in his right hand. Also to his right was a dumpster. Over towards his left on the ground was the unconscious form of Dick Grayson. Roy kept looking out at the road. He moved over toward the dumpster. With his left hand he began rummaging through it. "Just tell me there's a way to stop these things!" he yelled, "Please tell me there's that doesn't involve super human powerhouses!"

Barbara's answer was "Yes."

Roy let a sigh of relief. Then the crowd of people from the bar started coming down the alleyway. "You'll have to tell me later Babs!" he said, "I've got company!"

"Harper!" Barbara shouted angrily over the phone.

Roy pressed a button to turn off the phone. He shoved the phone into one of his jean pockets. With both hands he began flipping through the contents of the dumpster. He pulled a bunch of empty soda can. He crumpled the cans up and threw at the on coming crowd. It didn't even slow them down. _Should have know that wouldn't work. The broken beer bottles here might but one wrong move might seriously and lastingly hurt these people. I'm not fighting common thugs or super villains here. These people are innocent. It's those starfishes that are the problem. As I much I hate trick arrows I would absolutely kill for them and a good bow right about now!_

"Ah hah!" Roy said pulling something out of the garbage. In seconds several unbroken beer bottles were flying at people's heads.

In a near by motel room the door was wide open. A mob of people were trying to flood the room. The people would have been ordinary looking if not for the little starfishes perched on their heads. Tim Drake was backing up. A duffle bag was wide open with clothes messily sticking out of it. Tim had Nightwing's gloves over his fingers and the gauntlets on his wrists. Tucked under his left arm was Nightwing's boots. He opened a compartment on one of the gauntlets. He pulled out pellets. "Knockout gas!" he said, "Now where does Dick keep the rebreather?" Tim grabbed at the boots. He turned the boots upside down. He began tapping at the boots. He opened up all the compartments spilling out a number of items including a flash light, a mini computer, listening devices, and lock picks.

Tim caught the rebreather as it fell. He placed the rebreather over his face. He moved deeper into the room until his back was against the sink beside the bathroom.

"You must join us," the mob said speaking in unison. They came closer and closer. "You must become unified with the one. The conqueror will save you. Join us."

"I don't think so," Tim said. He dropped the pellets. Gas flooded the room. Everyone in the room besides Tim passed out. A starfish began crawling fast across the floor. Tim hit it with a wing-ding, Nightwing's version of the batarang. Another starfish came, then another. Tim's eyes widened. "Uh oh!"

A few minutes later Roy was running down a street being chased by a growing mob. More and more people were coming out of the nearby buildings. Street lights and a full moon lit up the night. Roy went on running. Something went past his head. He stared at the object as hit a telephone pole. It looked sort of like a batarang. _That's a wing-ding, _Roy thought, _Dick uses those. _Roy turned his head to look back at the mob. Another wing-ding came at him from above. Roy ducked and looked up. "Aw no!" he aloud. Tim was on a store roof. He had no mask on but he did have Nightwing's gloves. He swung down on a rope to stand in front of Roy. Tim's face looked conflicted. "I don't want to do this," he said, even as he raised a fist to hit Roy.

_Not good, _Roy thought, _really not good! This kid was trained by Batman. If it were Dick attacking me I'd be worried. _Roy dodged Tim's fist. Tim kicked him to the ground. Both of Roy's brows went up high on his forehead. _Fast, so fast! Maybe I should be worried. He was trained by the same one who trained Dick! He was trained by Batman!_

"I'm sorry!" Tim said even as he continued his attack. His troubled facial expression was completely at odds with his actions. He kicked at Roy. Roy grabbed Tim's leg knocking him off balance, throwing the teenager to the ground. Roy stood up fast. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He yanked Dick's cell phone out of his pocket and pressed a button to call Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Oracle again.

"How do you stop Starro?" Roy asked.

"Quicklime or a certain radio Signals," Barbara answered.

"How am I going to manage that?" Roy said. "I don't exactly see a radio tower around here."

"How about an electronics shop?" Barbara suggested.

"Afraid not. This is a small town," Roy said. Roy kept moving forward away from the mob. He ran out of road and found himself standing on the beach. "Oh, great I'm trapped.! The ocean is front of me. The mob beyond me. Could this get any worse?"

Men began to walk out of the ocean. Men who wore fantastical armor. There were larger red eyed starfishes covering their faces. Roy's eyes widened. "Oh crud! I just had to ask that stupid question!"

"What's going on Harper? Tell me!" Barbara demanded.

"Alantians controlled by Starro!" Roy yelled. Roy's brows went as high as they could when he saw one a familiar red and black outfit. "Gath?"

**The Clock Tower in Gotham City**

Barbara sat in her wheelchair in front of the computers. On a large screen she had a map of Florida up. There was a dot on the map along the coastline at the top of the state. The map was blown up growing larger, zeroing in on a small town.

"Harper!" Barbara yelled, "Roy are you still there?" _He hasn't hung up, _she thought,_ I've used the phone to trace his location. What's going on?_

A shout came from the phone. "Call Wally! Wally West!" There was a clicking sound as the phone went dead.

**One minute later in Keystone City**

In the living room of West apartment, the fifteen year old Bart Allen had his head titled down as his cousin's wife Linda Park-West yelled at him. The teenager stood with his back against a wall. The dark haired woman had her hands on her hips. Several boxes filled with photographs and other mementos were stacked haphazardly around the room. Linda gestured at the mess. "What do you think you're doing! I come home and find you here! You just came in uninvited? Didn't the fact that no one was home, tell you something?"

"I wasn't meaning anything bad," Bart said.

"You never do!" Linda shouted, "Now clean up this mess! Put every back where you got it, then leave! Just wait till I tell Jay about this. Or better yet Joan!"

"You wouldn't!" Bart said, looking deeply distressed. At that precise moment the phone across the room began to ring. Quicker than Linda could blink, Bart was standing at the phone. Bart picked up the phone. "Hello? Hellohellohello?"

"Give me that!" Linda yelled.

"Hello! Hello!" Bart continued saying.

"This isn't Wally West." the voice on the phone said, "This isn't the Flash."

"Nope. I'm his cousin, Bart Allen, Impulse!" Bart boasted, "I'm the fastest teenager alive!"

**Back at the Clock Tower**

Barbara sighed. "You'll have to do. I need you to come to the Old Clock Tower in Gotham City."

"Um where in Gotham City?" Bart asked.

Less than two minutes later Bart dressed in his red and white costume as Impulse was standing in the Clock Tower. "Your sense of direction is lousy!" Impulse said smiling, "I circled the city twice before I found this place. You know, Gotham is seriously creepy."

Again Barbara sighed. She typed on the computer. A map of Florida was on the screen. She pointed at it. "That red dot is the town I need to you to deliver the device to."

"You want me to run around a small beach town with a radio. I can do that!" Impulse gave a salute. "No problem!"

**The town of Silver Shores a minute and a half later**

Impulse moved down the three blocks of the small town with a radio in hand. The volume of the radio was cranked up high. A strange pulsing sound was coming from the speakers. Impulse reached the beach, the location where most of the townsfolk were. The starfish on top of people's heads began to shriek.

"This is totally like a B rated Sci Fi movie!" Impulse said. He stopped running. He watched as the starfish jumped of people's heads. Among the crowd was a face Impulse recognized. "Tim!" In under a second he standing beside his friend.

There was a starfish on Roy's head. Like all the others it jumped off. All the starfish ran to the sea. The townsfolk and the Alantians appeared confused. Roy looked at Impulse and the radio the teen was holding. Roy shook his head and covered his eyes with his hands. "Don't tell me, we just rescued by Flash Junior."

"Hey!" Impulse shouted. In less than a second he was standing by Roy. He glared at the older hero. "I'm not I'm Flash Junior. I'm not Kid Flash! The name is Impulse!"

"Whatever you say junior." Roy smirked.

Impulse put his thumbs to his ears and made a funny face at Roy. He then ran back to Tim.

Roy walked up to one of the Alantians, his friend Garth. Garth also known as Tempest, one of the founders of the Teen Titans. Garth was currently blinking. His purple eyes opened and shut multiple times. A dazed expression was on his face. "What happened? Where am I?" Garth asked, "The last thing I remember was investigating something odd on the bottom of the sea. A giant starfish…I think."

"Starro took over you," Roy said.

Garth looked at Roy in disbelief. "Star what?"

"Alien parasite," Tim said as he moved over toward them. Tim was followed by Impulse.

"Nightwinggloves! Sosocool!" Impulse said, "Does this mean you're going public with your identify? Does this mean you're like going to be using the name Nightwing now? Is Nightwing going to be Batman? Is-"

"No, no and no, Bart." Tim was annoyed. "Just stop the speed talk!"

Roy glanced at the gloves on Tim's hands. "You might want to hide those. And what are you doing with them in the first place?"

"Dick is the only one who brought his costume," Tim said, "I had to do something. Say, where is Dick?"

Roy looked suddenly awkward. "He was drugged and unconscious. I hid him." Tim glared. "Where?"

Roy grinned widely. "Let's just say, he won't like the stench."

A few minutes later somewhere else, Dick groaned. He sniffed. He opened his eyes to find that he was facing garbage. He was in a dumpster.

* * *

NEXT TIME: UNDER THE SHADOW OF MAGIC!


	2. Under The Shadow Of Magic

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC owns all rights. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

Chapter Two: Under the Shadow of Magic

**Gotham City - Friday- 11:25 p.m. - Gotham River - The River Bank**

A dark haired man in his mid twenties stood by the river. He wore jeans and a t-shirt. He looked average until one noticed his eyes and the two tattoo-like scars that started above his right brow and went down past his right eye. His eyes were purple. This man was Garth also know as Tempest. He was a sorcerer with the power to manipulate water. He was an Alantian and as such had the ability to breath underwater as easily as he did on land.

Garth was stumbling as he walked. A half empty whiskey bottle was in his right hand. The Dixon Docks were nearby. Garth was headed in that direction. There were warehouses near too. In the vicinity of the warehouses, three men were trying to break into a car. They had crow bars in their hands.

Garth passed by them. He slurred his words as he spoke. "Yoouu shouldn't be dooing thaat," he said.

"You going to stop us?" one of the thieves said tauntingly.

"I-I miigghht," Garth said, "Youuu doonn'tt wannna messs wwith me!"

"Yeah right," the first thief said.

"Get him!" another thief shouted. Two of the three men chased Garth.

Garth ran to stand in front in of the river. There was a grin on his face like he thought he was being very clever. "Yoouu shoulda listened." He gestured at the river with his left hand. Water from the river rose up. It took on a shape. It was an oriental style dragon made of water.

The two crooks ran back toward the other. The apparent leader scratched at his head. "What the heck is that, man?" the leader asked.

A unsual looking black car came down the road. "Cripes!" the leader of the thieves yelled, "That Batman's car. Let's get out of here!" The crooks took off running.

The batmobile pulled up by the car the theives had been trying to break into. The driver's door of the batmobile opened and Batman stepped out. He moved toward the river and Garth. "Tempest?" he asked.

"Hi ya Bats!" Garth said, "Whatcha dooing herree?"

"This is my city," Batman said, "A better question would be, what are you doing here?" Batman tilted his head looking up at the dragon made of murky water. "What is that thing?"

Garth shrugged. "Waatter. Jusstt wwateerr. Anndd a little magggic." With his right hand Garth lifted the whiskey bottle to his lips. He raised his left high. "Yoouu wanannt me tttoo gettt riidd of it?" Garth thrust his left arm back down to his side. The dragon moved quickly toward Garth and Batman. The dragon turned back into normal dirty river water. The water soaked both men.

Garth looked sheepish. "Thaat wasssn't suuppossed to hhappeenn!"

Batman scowled. "You're drunk."

Garth smiled "Yeesss I am!"

"What are you doing in my city?" Batman asked. Garth opened his mouth to answer. He didn't speak. Instead his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He passed out at Batman's feet. The whiskey broke as it hit the ground drenching the dark knight's boots in alcohol. Up in the sky the bat signal appeared.

**Bludhaven - Saturday- 12:04 a.m.**

On a roof top Nightwing stood looking down at an empty street. _Slow night, _he thought.

"It is dull isn't it?" a voice asked causing Nightwing to jump. Nightwing spun around. Standing before him was a man in Victorian era clothing carrying a cane. There were odd wisps of something like shadows moving around the man.

"Who are you?" Nightwing asked.

"As if you didn't know," the man said with contempt.

Nighwing was bewildered. "Have we met?"

The man nodded. "I would say so, Nightwing. Or should I say Dick Grayson?"

"What!" Nightwing shouted. _He knows my name! _he thought, _Who is he? What else does he know?_

"You act as if you're surprised," the man said, "For me this is the fourth time we have met. I would guess from the way you're acting this is the first time you have encountered me."

"I don't who you are, mister!" Nightwing yelled, "I've never met you before! Unless…" Nightwing's face suddenly took on a pained look. He calmed down a bit. "Unless this has something to do with time travel. "

"How very observant." The man adjusted his top hat. His voice held a layer of sarcasm. "Truly it must be said that the Batman trains his apprentices very well. A shame he does not train them better."

"Just get to the point," Nightwing said.

The guy in the Victorian clothes was clearly irritated. "You have entirely too little patience."

Nightwing drew his escrima sticks. The man in the Victorian shook his head. "Is violence all you can think of Richard? I'm not here to fight."

"Then what are you in doing here?" Nightwing asked.

"I am merely here to observe," the man said, "When one has lived as long as I have, one looks for ways to amuse one's self. The magic rising in Bludhaven is rather intriguing. This city has never been known for its magical energy. It's sister city Gotham has always surpassed it. That it seems is changing. Of course I cannot be sure. All my information is second hand and it has been a while since I was informed. I may have forgotten something."

Nightwing glared at the man. "Who told you this?"

The man in the Victorian clothes laughed. "Why you did, Richard. You and your team."

"What team? I haven't got a team!" Nightwing yelled.

"Oh, you will. You will." The man raised his cane high. "See you again one hundred years ago!" Shadows surrounded the man like smoke, making it impossible for Nightwing him. When the shadows faded away, the man was gone.

_One hundred years…shadows powers, _Nightwing thought. His eyes widened. "That was the Shade!"

**Star City - 9:11 p.m.**

In a cheap motel Roy Harper and his girlfriend were lying next to each other in a bed. The girlfriend was a beautiful woman with long purple hair. "Sarah," Roy said, "I think anyone who doesn't love you is crazy."

"I love you too," she said. _But there's something, _she thought, _that you don't know about me. My name isn't Sarah. It's Ceres. If you betray me lover boy, you'll regret it!_

**Gotham City - 12:17 a.m.**

The batmobile was parked near a school building on fire. The flames lit up the night sky. Flying through the air with the aid of a jetpack was the pyromaniac known as Firefly. "I'm going to burn down every place and everything that is bad!" Firefly bragged.

"Who decides that, Garfield?" Batman asked.

"I do!" Firefly shouted.

Inside the batmoible in the passenger seat, Garth was waking up. He looked around in confusion. He looked out the window. He saw Firefly. The pyromaniac was aim his flamethrowers at Batman. Batman's boots caught on fire. The flames were small but the boots were definitely on fire.

Garth flung open the car door hard enough that the door came off of the car. He got out quickly. He moved fast but awkwardly. He reached a fire hydrant. He punched the hydrant once. The hydrant imeaidly broke. Water poured out going straight up in the air. Garth gestured with his hands. The water moved sideways. It began to move slowly toward the burning shoes.

Batman shouted out "NO!" With remarkable speed Batman kicked off his boots. The water from the hydrant hit the shoes causing them to burst into much greater flames. Batman jumped back a few feet. He was now standing barefoot.

Firefly laughed. He flew close to Garth. "That was neat!" Firefly yelled. Firefly was about twenty feet up in the air above Garth.

"Yoouu aaiin'tt seen nothin!" Garth said.

"No, Garth," Batman said, "Don't do anything."

"Rroy's right. You nnnoo fuunn!" Garth focused the water so that it went high in the air. Firefly barely dodged the water. The pyromaniac wove a pattern through the air flying, trying to avoid the water. The water was moving with every gesture Garth made with his hands. The water was moving almost as if it had a life of its own.

"You're mad! You're crazy!" Firefly yelled, "Stop that! You trying to kill me or something?"

"Laannd annnd I quit," Garth said.

Firefly landed on the ground. The moment he did water surrounded him from ankle to neck. The water became solid, turning into ice. He was bound by ice. "No fair! You lied! You cheated!"

Garth smirked. "I didn't saayy wheenn I'd quitt!" Garth fell backwards, passing out again. There was a trace of blood coming out of his nose.

**The Batcave - 7:32 a.m.**

Garth woke up disoriented. He was in a shallow tank of water. He was just barley submerged. He was completely undressed. He sat up and looked around at the cave he found himself in. "Where am I?" He rose to get out of the water.

Someone came into Garth's line of sight but his vision was blurred. He couldn't tell who it was. Garth clutched at his head. He sank back into the tank, sitting this time instead of laying. "Oh my aching head!"

Garth's vision cleared. The man standing in front of him was Batman. Batman's cowl was down showing clearly the face of Bruce Wayne. He was scowling fiercely.

"Batman? Bruce?" Garth said nervously, "Um, Mr. Wayne." _What is this? _Garth thought, _he glares and I feel like I'm the spooked kid I was the first time I met him! Even without the mask, he's scary!_

A balding middle aged man came up behind the dark knight. He was holding a towel and what looked like Garth's clothes. "Master Bruce," he said in a British accent, "I must insist that you get off your feet at once!"

"In a minute Alfred," Bruce said.

"You've been saying that for the past two hours, sir," Alfred said.

Garth looked down at Bruce's feet. Bruce's feet were covered in bandages. "What happened?" Garth asked.

Bruce glared at Garth. "You know what happened."

"But I don't." Garth looked up at Bruce in confusion. "How did I get here? I don't remember anything past yesterday afternoon!"

"I don't believe you," Bruce said. There was almost a growl to his voice. "Try to think back."

Garth did so. _I went into a liqueur store with the intent of getting something strong… I wanted to get drunk. I wanted to forget my problems for awhile. I think I succeeded in doing that but then what?…Oh no! _

Garth became visibly distressed and embarrassed. He covered his face with his hands. "I think I remember now. It's kind of blurry. I…I broke the door off the batmobile, Didn't I?"

"You did more than that," Bruce said, "You broke a fire hydrant. That's just the start. What I'd like to know is how you did some of the things you did."

Garth shrugged. He smiled in an embarrassed way. "I'm strong. I don't normally rely on that but being able to lift eight tons isn't nothing. Lower scale super human strength is still super strength."

"That's not what I meant," Bruce said, "It's what you did to a villain who calls himself Firefly."

A look of concentration came upon Garth's face then a look of shock. "Yeah, I remember now. But I don't know how I did it. That should have been impossible."

"Obviously not," Bruce said.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said, "Allow the gentleman to get dressed before you begin questioning him." Alfred moved forward closer to Garth. "I took the liberty of washing your clothes, Master Garth. The smells of the Gotham River are not dissimilar to that of a sewer. It was most off putting." Alfred turned his head to look back at Bruce. "And I must say sir, that you do not smell like a rose either."

Garth stared in shock as Bruce smiled. "Is that your way of telling me I should get out of these clothes, old friend?"

"Most assuredly, Master Bruce," Alfred said, "You should have gotten out of that suit several hours ago." Alfred placed the towel and Garth's clothes on a small table with grabbing distance of the tank.

"Thanks," Garth said, as the butler walked away.

A few minutes later Garth was fully dressed. Bruce was wearing a bathrobe and pajamas. They were in another section of the bat cave, the area where the central computer was. Garth was standing. Bruce was sitting in a chair with his back to the keyboard, the large computer screen behind him.

Garth was looking bewildered. "I'm telling you I really don't know how I did," he said, "What you don't seem to understand is that magic requires concentration. I was drunk. There's no way even sober that I could do what I did. At least not that easily. Magic also takes practice if you're going to do any with finesse. Before last I never tried anything like that. I don't even know where I got the idea for the dragon. I've never done anything like that before."

Bruce stood up. "I want you out of Gotham City."

Garth glared at Bruce. "You don't own the city. This is a free county!"

"You're not a citizen of this country. You're not exactly obeying its laws." Bruce held up a wallet. The wallet was open showing a photo id. "Interesting choice for a surname. It reads "Garth Curry." It says that you're thirty. This is not even a good fake ID."

Garth snatched the wallet. "Like dressing up as a bat and being a vigilante is legal! It's not!" Garth shouted, "Roy and Ollie were both right. You are such a hypocrite. You wanted me, Wally, Roy and Donna in the city back when we were starting the Teen Titans. You even gave us a clubhouse, the Titan's Lair! Oh, right, that was all so you keep an eye on Dick! You didn't trust anyone then and you don't now!"

"I don't want a meta human with uncontrolled powers loose in my city," Bruce said, "That invites unwanted trouble."

"Like I said," Garth muttered loudly, "You don't trust anyone. Micromanaging everything…too many contingency plans, which almost killed the league once…you order and you boss. Do as I say and all that…not even a king."

Garth raised his voice. "This whole setup you got going, it's like a house of cards. Sooner or later it's going to come crashing down on you! Just like Arthur's kingdom crashed in on him! You two are very different but you do have one thing in common. You both have potentially fatal flaws! You just haven't had to really confront yours yet! I just hope when things go bad that you don't drag Dick down with you!"

"Get out!" Batman yelled.

Garth rolled his eyes. "No problems there!" He walked toward the nearby stairs. He turned back for a moment to look at Bruce. "Just so you know, Wally Dick, Roy, Donna and I, we weren't were really kids back then. We weren't from the first time we faced those dangerous situations. You kept treating us like kids. You did that more with Dick as he got older. You pushed him away doing that. You even stole his name! Robin was his, a nickname given by his mother! You had no right to pass the name on to someone else like it was part of your legacy! The miracle in all this is that he came back to you!"

Garth shook his head. "Sometimes I don't know what Dick sees in you and frankly I don't care." Garth turned his back on Bruce. He made his way up the stairs. When he reached the door to the manor he went through it then slammed it hard. The door went partially off its hinges. The old grandfather clock swung back covering the door but one could now tell that the door was there.

Down in the bat cave Bruce Wayne sat. His face was filled with a fury that slowly gave way to contemplation. His eyes took on a distant look as if he was seeing something not in the cave. There was increasingly, as the minutes ticked on, a sort of sadness to his face. He sat there for sometime lost in the memories of the past.

**Bludhaven - the hallway outside Dick Grayson's apartment - 3:33 p.m.**

Dick Grayson walked through the hallway. He was dressed in his police uniform. _First that boring patrol as Nightwing, _he thought, _well, boring until the Shade showed up. Then an extremely busy day as a cop! A hostage situation that called in even the off duty cops like I was supposed to be. I'm beat. It's only the afternoon but I want to crawl in bed. _Dick yawned_. I feel like I want to sleep for a week!_

Dick pulled out his keys. He stopped at his door. There were scratch marks on the doorway. _Those weren't there this morning. Something's not right. _Dick unlocked the door. He moved cautiously inside. There was a suitcase on the floor just inside the doorway. In the middle of the living room floor there was an extremely large old fashioned bathtub. It stood on four legs. The tub looked like it could hold two or three people easily. The living room was not large. The tub took up a huge chunk of the space. The furniture was all pushed aside or pushed up against the walls. Dick looked around increasing alarm.

There was a sudden sound coming from the bathroom. Someone was singing. Dick drew his gun. He moved toward the bathroom. He was soon standing in front of the bathroom door with the gun held in both hands. He could hear water being run in the shower and the sink. The door opened. The person on the other side of the door flung up his hands. Water from the still running faucets moved in seconds to block the door. The water went solid. In a instant a thick impossible to see through wall of ice covered the doorway.

"Dick?" a voice said from the other side of the ice wall.

_I know that voice! _Dick thought. "Garth?"

"Yes," Garth said.

"What are you doing here?" Dick asked.

"Funny you should say that," Garth said, "Batman asked me pretty much the same the thing when I was in Gotham City last night. I may have made him mad. Okay, I made him really angry. I tried call you from Wayne Manor but I couldn't get a response."

Dick's brows went up. "What? You were in Gotham City last night? Wait a second, you angered Bruce? How?" Garth sighed. "First, let me see if I can rid of this ice."

"What do mean if you can?" Dick said, "You put it up didn't you?"

"I seem," Garth said, "to be discovering new aspects of my powers. Batman tried to use that as his excuse to kick me out of his city. Something about 'uncontrolled powers." The ice faded away into mist. The entire area became flooded in fog.

"Whoa," Dick said. _The fog…it's so thick I can't see my hand in my front of my face! _"How did you do that? Never mind! Get rid of it , now!"

The fog turned into water. The floor was quickly soaked. "Uh, opps?" Garth looked surprised and embarrassed.

Dick stared at Garth. _Of all the original titans, _Dick thought, _he was the one was least close to. I went the past five months without seeing him…without even thinking about him… unless I saw a photo of him.. Then two weeks ago, that horrible road trip…I talked to him maybe three minutes…now today he shows up…what's going on?_

Half an hour later, Dick and Garth were sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee. "…and," Garth said, "I got in a bit of a screaming

Dick made a gesture for Garth to follow him. Less than a minute later, Dick were standing beside the antique looking bathtub pointing at it. "Would you mind explaining this?"

"I needed a place to sleep?" Garth said.

Dick crossed his arms. "Uh uh. That doesn't seem very comfortable for you."

Garth smiled slightly. "Um, it's not, not really. It'll do though for now."

"I don't mean to mean or anything," Dick said, "but you can't stay here long. It'll attract too much attention. You're not exactly low profile. You don't wear a mask. Your face is on the cover of a lot of those old Teen Titans fan magazines and books. The last thing I need is for someone to recognize you and start wondering why Dick Grayson has a super hero hanging around his place. The people I work with on the force don't even know I'm Bruce Wayne's adopted son. You really can't stay here."

Sadness filled Garth's face. "I don't know where to go," he said, "My wife- She- Dolphin kicked me out of our home. She didn't believe me about Starro. You'd think with all the weirdness we deal with, she would. Our country is being ruled by a dictatorship and Arthur refuses to do anything. He's the only who could do anything. I couldn't stay in Atlantis but-but there's no Titans team to return to." Garth titled his head down. "I don't know what I'm doing."

The floor plan of the apartment was open. It was a short walk of a few steps from the living room to the kitchen. Dick pulled a coffee tin out of a cupboard. He looked at the kitchen table and chairs. Then he looked at Garth who was still standing in the living room. Dick smiled warmly at him. "Come on. Sit down. We'll try to figure a few things out. You are going anywhere without at least telling me what happened in Gotham first!"

A few minutes later Dick and Garth were sitting at the kitchen table with mugs filled with coffee on the in table in front of them. "…and then," Garth said, "She told me I couldn't even see our son. It's not like the surface world where you can sue for custody. My homeland, the rules, the laws right now…It's madness! After all that I kind lost of mind a bit. It was mostly by accident that I wound up in Gotham City. My mind wasn't exactly clear. I sensed the magic and followed it."

"Hold on a minute," Dick said, "the magic?" Garth nodded. "I sensed a high level of mystical energy. I thought it was coming from Gotham. Gotham City has a history of strong magic. The land the city is on has a history related to the mystical arts going back thousands of years. But it wasn't Gotham. The magic was coming from somewhere else. I decided I didn't care to follow it. At this point my mind was a bit straighter. I have some money in savings here on the surface world. I drew some of it out. I got a fancy room in a hotel near Gotham Heights, mainly for the large Jacuzzi bathtub. And spent a few days in the city with Batman none the wiser. Then yesterday afternoon I started feeling sorry for myself a lot. I threw myself quite the pity party. I got drunk."

"What?" Dick's jaw dropped. "You? Drunk?" "I know," Garth said, "Who'd thought that nice old me would do that. Anyways, it was sometime after getting drunk that I came face to face with Batman. If you want the full story about happened last night you'll have to ask him. I don't remember it that well. That whole evening is in my mind, a fuzzy embarrassing mess. Anything Bats doesn't know, I'm not telling. I passed out at one point. The next thing I knew I was in the Batcave. Bats is it in a word: scary."

Dick grinned. "Really?" "Yes, really!" Garth gave Dick a mock glare. "Don't laugh at me. Don't make fun. Batman can be spooky even without the cowl. When he's not doing that playboy act he can be very intimidating."

"So," Dick said, still grinning, "What happened next?"

"Batman tried to interrogate me," Garth said, "and then…I'm afraid I got in a bit of a yelling match with him…"

**Star City- The Star City Rockets Stadium - 12:59 p.m.**

Roy Harper and his purple haired girlfriend were sitting in the stands. She turned her head to glare at Roy. "I don't why I agreed to this. This sort of event is not what I consider pleasurable." "How can you not like this?" Roy asked, "This is the best game the rockets have played in a while!"

Roy's girlfriend crossed her arms. "Please go get me another soda."

Roy raised a brow. "Now?"

His girlfriend glared. "Yes, now!"

A minute later Roy was standing in front of a concession stand paying for the asked for soda. The cashier was about to hand the drink to Roy. A stunning blond haired woman walked up to him. "Roy Harper! It's so been so long!"

Roy looked at her confusedly. "Do I know you?"

The woman laughed. She moved closer to him. She kissed him.

"Hey!" Roy shouted, pushing her away, "I enjoy that as much as the next man but I can't! I'm with someone!"

The woman tried to him kiss again. Roy tried to fight her off. It was at this moment that his girlfriend showed up.

Roy looked at his girlfriend nervously. "Um, hi Sarah! I- I can explain."

His girlfriend glared at him with great intensity. Her purple hair seemed to defy gravity. "You are mine for however I want you. Until I loose interest or you grow old no other woman shall have you!" She pointed at the blond. The other woman instantly turned into a pig.

Roy stared in shock.

**Bludhaven- Dick Grayson's apartment- 4:07 p.m.**

Dick was no longer sitting at the kitchen table. He was standing. He was yelling at Garth. "You had no right to say those things to him! You don't understand what Bruce has been through. You weren't there during the events after the Gotham earthquake! You weren't around during No Man's land. You weren't around! You didn't see him after he was charged with murder then broke out! You don't know Bruce at all. You have no right to judge him!"

Dick slapped his hands on to the kitchen table. He leaned forward toward Garth. He scowled at Garth. "You don't insult Batman. You don't disrespect him. He's faced his inner demons. He's dealt with his problems. He's not perfect but no one is. He's Gotham City's greatest protector. He's Batman. Without him there wouldn't even be a Gotham City today. If you believe half the things that you've been saying about him then you don't understand the first thing about him."

"Maybe not," Garth said as he stood up. Garth's brows arched with anger. "Maybe I don't even understand you. I'm not staying here. Don't worry about me! I'm leaving. I'm not staying where I'm clearly not wanted. " Garth moved across the kitchen into the living room. He moved past the atige bathtub. He walked to the door to leave. He picked up his suitcase. He turned back around to look at Dick.

There was a mean look to Garth's face as he smirked. "Oh and you can keep the tub! I don't really need it. Good luck getting it out of here!" Garth opened the door and left. The door was slammed as he left.

**Star City- The front door of Oliver Queen's House - 2:16 p.m.**

Roy Harper stood in front of the door with his daughter Lian in his arms. There were suitcases around him on the ground. He rung the door bell. He smiled at his daughter. "You're going to stay with Grandpa Ollie for a while."

Oliver Queen was Roy's legal guardian at one point. Though they didn't always get along he was the closest thing Roy had to a father. It was Oliver who opened the door. He was a blond haired man with a distinctive beard. He stared down at the suitcases. "Planning on a long term visit?" he asked dryly.

"Not exactly," Roy said, "I know it's short notice but could you look after Lian for a while? It's kind of an emergency." "Why?" Oliver asked, "What happened?"

"I ticked off the wrong woman," Roy said.

Oliver raised a brow. "Who?"

"Ceres," Roy said.

Oliver raised both brows. "The sorceress? The one from Homer's Odyssey?" "Yes." Roy looked annoyed.

Oliver scratched at his beard and then at his head. "Isn't she one of Wonder Woman's foes? How in the heck did you manage to get her mad at you?"

Roy looked at his daughter. "Let's just say that certain that things shouldn't said in front of little ears."

Oliver's eyes widened. "Oh!"

**Bludhaven - 9:42 p.m. - a commercial neighborhood**

Garth walked down a sidewalk carrying his suitcase. The street around him was lined with closed stores and businesses. He kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. "Stupid Batman. Stupid Dick," he muttered, "I don't need anyone. I don't!" He sighed. "But I do. Now what?"

There was a puddle of water on the street near the sidewalk. Garth sat down on the curve of the sidewalk. He waved a hand and the water swirled. He made shapes out of the water. A small watery model of the second Titan's Tower rose up then fell back into a puddle.

There was a thumping thundering sound. _Great, _Garth thought, _It's about to rain! _Garth sniffed at the air. _Eww! Something smells bad! All dead and decayed!_

A slow dumb sounding voice spoke. "Fancy waterman go night night!"

Garth looked up tilting his head back. Above him and behind him was a large white form in ragged clothes. Garth was looking up at the face of the zombie Solomon Grundy. _Not rain! _Garth thought. Solomon Grundy's fist hit the back of Garth's head sending him into unconsciousness.

"Waterman sleeps," Grundy said, "Good waterman." He picked Garth and draped over one of his shoulders. The zombie then went walking on down the street.

**Dick Grayson's apartment- 9:50 p.m.**

Dick was sitting slouched at a computer. An article on the history of the Shade was on the computer screen. A police radio was blaring in the room. The radio was not necessarily legally obtained. It was useful not for Dick's work as cop but for his nightly activities as Nightwing.

"Suspect," a voice on the radio said, "Uh, you're not going to believe this. Suspect is a large pasty white figure. Suspect appears to be a zombie. I repeat, a zombie…. Um, the suspect smashed a patrol car."

Another voice came on. "That's a zombie alright. That's not just any zombie. Don't you watch the cable news? That's Solomon Grundy! He's fought Superman! That guy he's carrying… He's older but I think that's Aqualad! My kid sister had posters of him."

_Garth?_ Dick thought, He sat up straighter.

Five minutes Dick was dressed in his Nightwing costume. He was swinging from line down to the street where Solomon Grundy was. Solomon Grundy was moving very slowly down a street. There were police cars around him. The police officers had their guns out pointed at him but no one was firing because Grundy was carrying someone across his shoulder. One police car parked to the side was completely busted up and barely recognizable as a car.

Nightwing swung past Grundy. He grabbed a hold of Garth as he did. Nightwing landed off with Garth in his arms. They fell to the ground. Garth's eyes were still shut.

Grundy moving toward and picked up Garth.

"Let go of him!" Nightwing yelled.

"Maskman, doesn't boss me," Grundy said.

"Maskman? Are you kidding me?" Nightwing asked "Of all the things you could call me you chose that?" Nightwing become more serious. "I'll ask you one last time, this time nicely. Please let go of that man."

"Grundy not letting go of Waterman," Grundy said, "Grundy likes watching Waterman do his fancy magic. Grundy liked the alphabet letter he made with the water. Grundy wanted to see more."

"So you knocked him out?" Nightwing asked, "Where's the sense in that?"

"Grundy wanted to see magic worked on bigger water than puddle," Grundy said, "Waterman would never go anywhere with Grundy if awake. So Grundy make him sleep."

"You should have just asked him," Nightwing said, "Manners will someone much further than rudness, even if that person is a zombie."

"Maskman is crazy!" Grundy shouted, "Grundy not listening to stupid Maskman anymore!" Grundy started to walk away.

Nightwing rose up to his feet. He punched Grundy in the face. Grundy swatted at his hand. With only one hand Grundy pushed Nightwing to the pavement. Grundy moved on down the street with Garth draped over his shoulder again.

_Hitting him was like hitting a brick! _Nightwing thought,_ I've got to change tactics. I've got to do something else._

One of the cops standing near by had a taser. Nightwing stood up quickly. He stepped close to the cop. He pointed at the taser. "Do you mind if I take that?"

The cop was near frozen with fear at the sight of Grundy who was incredibly close by. The cop nodded ever so slightly. "Go ahead."

Nightwing moved at Grundy with the taser. He pressed the taser against Grundy's back.

"That stings! That hurts!" Grundy yelled. He turned around then knocked the taser out of Nightwing's hands. "Maskman and Waterman too much trouble. Maskman wants Waterman, he can have him!" Grundy lifted Garth off his shoulder. He lifted Nightwing off the ground. He threw both of them together. Garth and Nightwing went flying through the air. They went crashing through a glass window onto the floor of a darkened hardware store.

The police officers immediately fired on the zombie. The bullets did nothing but put holes in his clothes. Grundy still stood. "Grundy doesn't want to deal with blue men!" Grundy shouted. He walked straight toward the hardware store.

Nightwing shook Garth. It was no use. Garth wouldn't wake up. "Come on!" Nightwing yelled, "We got to get out of here!" _He's coming right at us, _Nightwing thought,_ this guy can fight Superman… yet Batman managed to take him down more than once…Heck, Green Arrow did without his bow! Green Arrow…_

Nightwing looked around the store. He grabbed Garth and carried toward an aisle. He let go of Garth and started looking at the shelves. Solomon Grundy walked through the store window. Grundy soon moved down a different aisle.

Less than a minute later Nightwing ran at Grundy's back. Nightwing had copper coils in his hands. He wrapped the coils around Grundy's throat. He pulled with all his might. Grundy fell to the floor. Grundy's eyes were shut. He was out cold.

A minute after this Nightwing was standing over Garth. Garth was sitting on the floor rubbing at his head. "Grundy?" Garth asked, "What happened to Grundy?"

"I knocked him out with wire," Nightwing answered, leaning against a store shelf.

Garth looked up at Nightwing with a skeptical look. "You knocked him out?"

"Don't look so surprised," Nightwing said. He grinned. "Green Arrow did with it bow strings. It's the same principle. It's where I got the idea. Roy was bragging about it during that awful road trip last week. Now come on. Let's get out of here." Nightwing held out a hand offering to help Garth up. Garth accepted and was pulled to his feet.

**The moon - The Watchtower- Less Than a Hour Later**

Roy Harper was dressed as Arsenal in the red and orange costume with the arrow on the front. He stood in an observatory room looking out at the moon and up at the Earth. _It's a good thing Ollie has connections with the Justice League,_ he thought,_ It's a great thing that I got temporary permission to use the Justice League's teleporters. What a view!_

"It is quite stunning," the Martian Manhunter said as he floated into the room through a wall.

"It's breathtaking," Arsenal said, "I just had to see it this way again. And don't worry, I'm not staying up here. I'm just passing through. I got a friend in Bludhaven who I think I'll go pester."

* * *

_NEXT TIME: CHAPTER THREE: THE HIDDEN AGENDA!_


End file.
